Bereavement

OUR SERVICES & PROGRAMS

The time following the loss of a loved one can be extremely difficult for family and friends. St. Joseph Hospice understands that the grief process is a normal reaction to loss and that the healing process takes time and can vary from person to person.

The care provided by St. Joseph Hospice doesn’t end with the death of a patient … care extends to the family of the deceased patient during the year following the loss to help them work through feelings caused by a death-related loss.

St. Joseph Hospice offers support groups, programs and resources to help family members deal with grief in a number of ways on your own time. Our experienced counselors, chaplains and staff not only know the right questions to ask … they know when to just sit back and listen.

What can I expect from my grief experience?

Please know that your grief experience will be unique to you, due to a list of factors:

Your relationship to your loved one, including the degree of closeness and the roles the person played in your life

The circumstances of your loved one’s death

Your perceived support system

Your unique personality and the personality of your loved one

Your gender

Your cultural background

How you have dealt with previous losses

Other life crises

Your spiritual perspective. (Information obtained from Understanding Your Grief by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, which is a very helpful resource for those seeking to understand the grief process.)

Yet, even though your grief experience will be unique, there are some tasks that you will work through, to one degree or another, when dealing with your loss:

Accepting the Reality of the Loss*

Working through the Pain of Grief*

Adjusting to an Environment in Which Your Loved One is Missing (Internal, External & Spiritual Adjustments)*

Emotionally Relocating Your Loved One*

Embracing Life Again**

*Information obtained from Dr. William Worden’s Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, Third Edition